Which to use
“schildern” is a verb and “Schulden” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,162
- “schildern” frequency rank
- #3,150
- “Schulden” frequency rank
- 15312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schildern | Schulden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas anschaulich und detailreich erzählen, beschreiben | die gesamten Verpflichtungen (Passiva) einer Person oder einer Firma, die dem vorhandenen Vermögen (Aktiva) gegenüber stehen |
Where the eye mixes schildern and Schulden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schildern runs 9 letters (CCCVCCVCC) against Schulden's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schildern vs Schulden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schildern is [ˈʃɪldɐn] while Schulden is [ˈʃʊldn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schildern is recorded at frequency rank #12,162, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɪldɐn]. Schulden is at rank #3,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊldn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 15312, this pair ranks #1,944,846 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schildern vs Schulden
Shared letters: cdehlns. Private to "schildern": ir. Private to "Schulden": u.
"schildern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC · "Schulden" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schildern" and "Schulden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schildern" vs "Schulden" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schildern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schulden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,944,846 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schildern" and "Schulden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs Schulden". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,944,846 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.